Wild gameday

6 P.M. at CAROLINA • PNC ARENA • FSN, 100.3-FM

Preview: The Wild, coming off a 2-1 homestand, is 2-0 without injured Zach Parise and 12-12-1 without him since his 2013 debut. The Wild begins a four-game road trip that continues to Dallas, Pittsburgh and Boston. The Wild is 6-2-2 in its past 10 games against Carolina and has points in four consecutive at Carolina (2-0-2). The Hurricanes have the third-fewest points (12) in the East and have lost three of their past four.

Players to watch: Wild LW Thomas Vanek has four goals and five assists in his past five games. LW Jason Zucker has nine points in his past nine games and linemate Mikko Koivu has a point in 11 of 14 games. C Erik Haula has two goals in the past four games. D Justin Faulk, a South St. Paul native and former UMD standout, leads Carolina with five goals and is tied for second with C Eric Staal with nine points. F Kris Versteeg leads with 10 points.

Numbers: The Wild leads the NHL in fewest times shorthanded (30) but is tied for second with three shorthanded goals. The Wild has taken two or fewer minor penalties in nine of the past 10 games. … The Wild is one of two NHL teams without an empty-net goal (along with Buffalo). … The Wild has eight goals and 33 points in 14 games from its defensemen.

Injuries: The Wild's Parise (knee), D Marco Scandella (family matter), C Tyler Graovac (sports hernia) and RW Justin Fontaine (sprained MCL) are out. Hurricanes D James Wisniewski (knee) is out.

MICHAEL RUSSO